CRIME Chief Leslie James has told this publication that the police are compiling a file with details of their investigations into the January 4, 2015 fatal shooting of Ryan Couchman by a member of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) at the Soesdyke/Linden Highway. The file would be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice.Personnel at the Police Office of Professional Responsibilities (OPR) said Tuesday they do not wish to comment on whether a report was filed there by relatives of Couchman, who maintained that Couchman was murdered.

A post-mortem performed on the body of the fatally shot Couchman revealed that his death had been due to gunshot injuries he had received to the chest, the Police have said. But even as the man’s wife, Natasha Couchman, spoke to the media in relation to the gunning down of her spouse, the Police have maintained that they have not found any discrepancies with the detailed statement given by the cop; and accordingly, they are standing by him until his story can be disproven.

This publication has spoken to several persons, including eyewitnesses, who gave a version of what transpired that differed from what the Police have accepted and has painted a picture of murder, but the police are contending that Ryan Couchman was fatally shot during a robbery.
Couchman, 34, of Lot 1360 Eighteenth Street, Diamond New Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, was a known criminal and ‘trunker’, according to the Guyana Police Force. Crime Chief Leslie James, promoted to Assistant Police Commissioner, told this publication that Couchman had been known to the GPF, and their records revealed that he had been charged for several armed robberies and had been a known ‘trunker’.

James explained that, based on the police probe of the incident, they have found nothing wrong with the statement submitted by the policeman who had discharged the round that killed Couchman on that fateful day at the Soesdyke/Linden Highway junction.

James said, however, that the incident has claimed the life of someone, and the police are still investigating the incident; ranks are out there taking statements from eyewitnesses as the probe continues.

He added that Couchman and the cop, who was off-duty at the time, had earlier had a row at the creek outside Splashmins Fun Park; and later that day, the group with which the deceased had been liming decided to ‘tackle’ the cop while they were at a shop by the junction. James noted that during the ruckus, Couchman then advanced on the policeman with a broken bottle with which he slashed the policeman in the mouth, and the cop managed to get hold of his weapon and fire a round which struck Couchman.

The Crime Chief stated that the GPF is not taking sides, and the matter is being looked at intensely. He pointed out that the cop involved is on sick leave.

Following the fatal shooting of Ryan Couchman on Sunday afternoon, January 4, 2015, by an off-duty cop at Linden/Soesdyke Highway junction, East Bank Demerara (EBD), the police had issued a statement claiming that Couchman was killed during a robbery, while his relatives and friends said he was shot dead in cold blood during a misunderstanding.

The Police press statement, issued after 21:00 hours on the Sunday night of the incident, said the Force had begun investigating an incident that occurred at about 19:00 hours on January 04, 2015, in which an armed policeman in plainclothes was attacked and robbed of his gold jewellery by three men at Soesdyke, EBD.

During the robbery, the policeman — who was being repeatedly assaulted by the perpetrators — discharged a round which fatally wounded one of the men, who was identified as Ryan Couchman, 34, of Diamond, EBD. His two accomplices managed to escape.

The injured policeman received medical treatment at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, EBD.

Ryan Couchman is known to the police and has been previously charged on a number of occasions for robbery under arms.

Eyewitnesses’ accounts narrate a scene in which Couchman and a group of friends were on an outing at the creek, and were drinking and having fun when a quarrel started between the cop and a member of his group. That was eventually settled before it reached a fight.

After the creek expedition and before going home, Couchman and his friends decided to stop for beverages at a hangout spot by the junction of the Soesdyke/Linden Highway, when the cop showed up and a row started, followed by a fight, during which Couchman was fatally shot when he intervened as a peacemaker, eyewitnesses said.

Although four rounds had been discharged, only one had struck Couchman, and he was conveyed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The man’s wife, Natasha Couchman, told the media that her spouse had earlier been with friends at a creek along the Soesdyke/Linden Highway, and had stopped at the junction to have some beverages when they once again encountered the off-duty cop.

Couchman had been the father of two, and had reportedly been a miner. (Michel Outridge)